The Cascade Lakes scenic highway is the outdoor gem of Bend. With hundreds of miles of hiking trails, the iconic Three Sisters mountain range, and dozens of beautiful lakes, this highway is the ultimate attraction if you love adventure, nature, forests, and mountains.

There are so many great hiking options along the Cascade Lakes Highway. Danny and Jiraiya trekking up Tumalo Mountain.

Where to hike and camp along the Cascade Lakes Highway

We road tripped many times through Bend before we discovered the pristine beauty along the cascade lakes highway. It’s an outdoor adventurist wonderland and filled with great hiking, biking, camping, fishing, kayaking, backpacking, and just relaxing.

Cascade Lakes Highway Tips before you go

You will need a permit at any trailhead or parking lot on the Cascade Lakes Highway and some of the parking lots near the Mackenzie River area. You can purchase an annual Northwest Forest pass for $30 or just a day pass for $5 at the ranger station on the right side of the highway when driving to the Cascade Lakes from Bend.

Between Memorial Day and October 31st, all hikers must fill out the free self service hiking permits at the trailheads.

There is no food or restaurants along the highway so stock up ahead of time.

Best Scenic Stops on Cascade Lakes Highway:

Elk Lake

This lake is the most built up place on theCascade Highway. With cabins, hotels, SUP rentals, and plenty of amenities, it’s basically a resort. This is a great lake for watersports as well as families with young kids since the water at the lake shore is shallow.

Gorgeous Views surrounding the tranquil waters at Elk Lake

Devil’s Lake

You can just pull over on the side of the road to capture great pics of the gorgeous green lake or there is a short 1 mile hike from the parking lot.

You can stop along the Cascade Lake Highway for great views of the turquoise waters at Devil’s Lake

Best Strenuous Hike:

South Sister

While we haven’t ever been in Bend in the right season to hike the South Sister, there’s no doubt it is the ultimate hike in the area. Being the most prominent peak in all of Bend at 10,358 feet high, this hike gives you bragging rights. This hike is very strenuous and gains 4,000 feet of elevation over 5.5 miles (11 miles roundtrip.) Start this hike from the South Sister/Devil’s Lake Trailhead on the right (if coming from Bend).

Green Lakes

Not up for intense elevation gain but still want amazing view? The Green Lakes trail brings you to some of the most stunning alpine lakes you’ll ever see with views of South Sister along the way. This trail is 9 miles roundtrip, gains 1000 feet of elevation, and starts from Green Lakes trailhead.

Jiraiya and Tati enjoying some snacks before heading up the Green Lakes Trailhead.

Best Moderate Hike:

Tumalo Mountain

This is probably the best bang for your buck hike on the Highway. This hike is a short 4 miles round-trip and brings you to one of the most spectacular views in all of Bend. From Tumalo’s summit, you get views of the beautiful North, Middle, and South Sister as well as the jagged Broken Top mountain and Mt Bachelor. While it’s only 4 miles, it gains 1,500 feet so be prepared for a slight challenge.

The 360 degree views from the top of Tumalo mountain are incredible.

Broken Top Trail

In my opinion, Broken Top mountain is the most stunning peak in this mountain range. This hike is accessed from Broken Top trailhead, which is 3 miles down a dirt road from the Todd Lake Trailhead parking lot. Getting there requires 4WD and is only accessible from late June through fall. The 6 mile roundtrip trail to the stunning alpine lake is a bit tricky to follow at times so I recommend following these directions.

Best Easy Hikes:

Six Lakes Trail to Doris Lake

This beautiful alpine lake is one of the lesser known hikes on the Cascade Lakes highway. While you you can continue on this trail to 6 lakes including Senoj Lake, Doris Lake is the highlight of the trail. It can be easy to miss so just pay attention to slight trails that veer off to the right of the main trail. This hike is 6 miles roundtrip if you just go to Doris Lake or 10 if you do the whole Six Lakes trail. The trail doesn’t have any hard elevation gain and is very gradual. This hike starts at Six Lakes Trailhead just 2 miles past Elk Lake.

Hiking to Doris Lake on the Cascade Lake Highway

Lucky Lake

This is a nice, easy 3 mile roundtrip hike to a pretty lake. It is also a great turn around point on the Cascade Lakes Highway. Experienced hikers can combine Lucky Lake with the Six Lakes trail.

Cooling off in the heat of summer in Lucky Lake

Sparks Lake

The Ray Atkeson Memorial Trail is a good hike with young kids because of the cool lava rock features along the trail. It is only a 2.3 mile loop and relatively flat.

View of the three sisters mountains while hiking around Sparks Lake

Todd Lake

This is a good, easy hike that goes through meadows, around the perimeter of Todd Lake. While easy, you still get somme great views of the Sisters range. This trail is only a 1.7 mile loop and has no elevation gain.

The hike to __ is a nice leg stretcher, but pales in comparison to some of the other hikes in our opinion.

Where to Camp on Cascade Lakes Highway

There’s a little bit of every type of camping along the Cascade Lakes Highway. Whether you need amenities, want a peaceful campground in the trees, or like free camping as off-grid as possible, there’s definitely a camping area to suit your needs.

These campgrounds are only open from April to October.

The only campground with a dump station on the Cascade highway is at Lava Lakes RV Park, which is right next to Lava Lake Campground.

Elk Lake Campground (National Forest)

The most popular campground along the Cascade Lakes highway is Elk Lake campground. This is a good campground if you need amenities like water, sport rentals, and a small camp store. The lake is very pretty, but busier than the other campgrounds

Elk Lake Campground can accommodate RV, trailer or tent-campers, however, electric hookups are not available. All sites are equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. The campground has drinking water and vault toilets available. This campground also features a boat ramp to provide access to Elk Lake.

opportunity for swimming, fishing, windsurfing and water skiing. Hiking and horseback riding are popular activities on the Elk-Devils Trail

Elk Lake Resort and Campground (Privately Owned)

Elk Lake Resort is where you’d cabins sleep six ands tart at $239 per night. There are also glamping tents here that sleep 4 and start at $99 a night. The cabins are available to rent in winter and is a popular destination for snowmobile, snow shoeing, and fat biking.

There are also RV campsites at Elk Lake Resorts from May to October but the camping is dry camping (no hookups here).

Quinn Meadows Horse Camp Campground (National Forest)

With large sites and a vast area to ride on the southwest side of Mt. Bachelor and surrounding areas, this campground is located between Devils Lake and Elk Lake and provides access to the Three Sisters Wilderness via the Quinn Creek Trail or Katsuk Pond Trail.

Love it? Share it or Pin it:

Share The Love, Choose Your Platform!

Robyn, the creator of Nomads With A Purpose, is a modern nomad. Her and her family, her husband, Victor, and her five kids travel to seek adventure. She is passionate about health and wellness, striving to live A Playful Life.

Follow Us!

Blogs that appear on this website may contain affiliate links. When you click through these links we receive a small commission at no charge to you. This helps keeps our blog running so we can continue to deliver adventurous content to you!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Robyn and 18 year old daughter, Gabi are the authors and creators behind nomadswithapurpose.com. They are passionate about adventuring in the outdoors through surfing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and hiking. Together they are inspiring others to explore the outdoors, get outside their comfort zone, and #BraveForAdventure.